


Mission

by lpmc94



Series: Jace's Adventures [4]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-23
Updated: 2014-05-23
Packaged: 2018-01-26 04:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1675595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lpmc94/pseuds/lpmc94
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A simple supply trip goes horribly awry...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mission

    It was supposed to be easy. A simple escort mission. A wealthy trader and his caravan had agreed to supply Skyhold, but only if the Inquisitor himself could guarantee him and his husband safe passage. The pair were some of the richest in Orlais, so the Inquisitor was forced to grit his teeth and hold back his snark as he traveled to Val Royeaux to retrieve the insufferable pair.  
    From there, the journey would unfortunately take them halfway across the Orlesian countryside, before reaching the mountains that cradled Skyhold. And so it was with great annoyance did Jace gather up all nine of his companions to accompany him on this long mission. Cullen had also deigned to join them, as this noble had helped supply the Chantry in the past with lyrium from his dwarven connections.  
    Trouble came on the third day. Jace rode in the front, draconic helmet gleaming, staff faintly glowing with eldritch energies. Beside him rode Cassandra, clad in her sable Seeker attire, and Solas in his...longjohns. His other friends rode farther back, scattered among the long train of wagons heading towards Skyhold.  
    What startled Jace was Solas, who had suddenly halted with his hand raised, motioning for a halt. His ears began twitching, showing that he had heard something beyond the abilities of human hearing. Distantly, Jace heard Sera calling from the back, also a warning. Jace instantly called for a halt. He greatly trusted the elven ears of his companions. Immediately, he began giving quiet orders to his companions that rode up near him, grouping them in such a way as to protect the nobles and their goods.  
    However, the Inquisitor was not at all prepared for an attack from below. A great rumbling began underneath the caravan train, which toppled nearly every wagon, as well as knocked all riders from their horses. Jace in particular fell very hard, nearly knocking himself out on a boulder. While he gathered his senses, his ears could hear nothing but a cacophony of madness, with men crushed by their horses or wagons and plenty of people yelling. Jace slammed his hand down hard on the ground, shoving mana out in waves through the earth. He snapped the opposing mage’s thread of control over the quaking ground like a dry twig, ceasing the convulsions that had disoriented the large group. He stood shakily, before he whipped out his bladed dragonbone staff in anger. Unbeknownst to him, his body began to give off a dark green glow as his anger rose higher and higher. Jace would be damned before he’d let some two-bit earth mage get the better of him.  
    Dorian came to stand beside his slightly glowing form, as did Cullen, both silently perusing him for any sign of injury. Jace quietly let them, as he continued to search for the mage who had stupidly picked the wrong day to mess with the Inquisitor. As Cor came from behind, Jace inclined his head and listened as the large Grey Warden told him of the casualties. Quite a few had been crushed beneath the fallen horses and wagons, leaving behind many wounded. Jace cursed quietly for the lack of medical supplies on hand. Trading goods they had in spades, but simple medical supplies had not been within the initial shipment meant for Skyhold. He sent Solas and Dorian to help the wounded, along with Vivienne. He too would have helped, but his talents lay primarily in war, not healing. Also was the matter of the opposing mage, as Jace had to be ready to counter that nasty earth magic. For the moment though, it had seemed that the enemy had ceased the offensive, likely surprised by the nullification of the earthquake spell.  
    Jace stood there at the edge of the plains, staff pointed threateningly at the forest before him. They were at a major tactical disadvantage. The group was trapped by the dense forest before them (Jace sensed that the earth spell had come from within), as well as the large lake behind them. Both Sera and Varric had come to stand beside him, as all the other companions were helping to tend the wounded. They stood their ground as the sun roared high overhead. For an hour the three stood and waited as Jace’s fellow mages worked tirelessly, while the warriors helped set right what they could.  
    The noble and his husband had fortunately had remained unharmed. However, many of the goods had been irreparably damaged. Not a total loss, but Jace still found it disheartening.  
  
\--------------------------------  
    It was another two long hours of waiting before the assault resumed. It started with a blast of fireballs launched high from within the forest to slam down on the remaining caravans, instantly consuming them in a blaze. Jace threw up the biggest shield he could to protect those men closest to the fire. Even still, he could hear the cries of the men set ablaze. The horses went wild, fleeing in every which direction. Those men not belonging to the Inquisitor attempted to flee in the chaos as well, only to be struck down from arrows in the forest. Jace turned his attention to the forest, attempting to shield the survivors from the deadly hail of steel with an enormous barrier of light. Vivienne and Solas came to support him, jointly creating a thick wall of ice over the entrance to the forest, giving Jace time to drop his rather draining barrier spell.  
    He yelled to Cullen, who was busy helping survivors, “Cullen, I need some Smiting, now!” The blond man yelled back to him in the affirmative. Jace could hear a rushing sound followed by a flash that made his hair stand on end. He faintly heard a mangled cry within the trees, and smirked. Bandits decked in iron armor streamed out of the forest, weapons gleaming in the sunset. Nearly thirty enemies to the Inquisitor’s ten companions. The nobles had been consumed by the blaze, and every other able bodied man had either fled or perished. Needless to say, Jace was angry. All of that effort, only to have the lives of those people torn away by common bandits. WIth that thought in mind, the battlemage led his companions into battle, bringing to bear all of his arcane might.  
    They fought as the flames from the caravan spread to the forest, setting it too ablaze. Jace was brought back to his senses when he heard a loud cry of pain. Vivienne had been brought to her knees by a big brute of a warrior carrying a large shield. Jace hurried towards her, setting the man ablaze with a flick of his fingers. Vivienne flashed him a grateful smile, before he saw her look behind him in fear. Before Jace could turn around he felt a dagger slice across his throat. Pain beyond imagining gripped him, causing him to sink to his knees. He could feel the blood escaping his throat, despite the palm he had pressed on it in desperation. His glowing emerald eyes turned to the rogue behind him, giving him a deadly gaze. With the last of his strength, Jace incinerated the man in a flash of green flame. In his last waking seconds, he saw Vivienne running towards him, screaming his name.  
\------  
    As Cullen finished off the last bandit along with Cor, he heard Vivienne screaming for Dorian. He turned in her direction and his heart stopped. Vivienne’s head piece had fallen off and her robes were singed. But what concerned him was the head she held cradled in her lap. Cullen looked down to the Inquisitor, and to his growing horror he saw blood gushing through Vivienne’s shaking and flickering fingers. Her own healing attempts weren’t quick enough. He immediately sprinted to her side, and he could hear Dorian and Cor following suit. Cullen grabbed the hand of his friend, holding the unresponsive appendage. Dorian quickly knelt by her side. He moved to place his hands on top of hers, reigniting the glow that had faded as her own talents began to fail.  
    While Cullen watched in fear, he saw Solas come to place his hands underneath Vivienne’s and Dorian’s. The glow from magister’s palms shone like a star, a violently blue glow that was causing Cullen’s own Templar senses to go haywire. As he watched Dorian work in combination with Vivienne and Solas, it truly struck the Templar how powerful this magister was. His mastery of healing far surpassed many of the spirit healers that Cullen had seen in Circle towers, even the famous Archmage Wynne. What Jace was to battle magic, this man was to the healing arts. The light from the mage’s palms was near blinding, though he could see that Dorian, for all his power, was stretching his limits in healing Jace. Cullen’s ears began to register subtle whispers, careless snatches of noise without meaning. He realized that Dorian had channeled so much power that the Veil was starting to thin in the area.  
    The healing seemed to drag on, but the hands of the three mages never wavered. Cullen’s eyes never left the face of the man he had begun to love. The other companions crowded around their fallen leader in fear. The glorious glow that graced Dorian’s hands began to flicker. The man looked pale and sweat rolled down in rivers.  
    Abruptly, Dorian began to scream, “No, no, no!”  
    As Cullen heard Dorian shout, he saw the glow begin to fade more dramatically. Before anyone could stop him, the group watched Dorian remove one hand from Jace’s throat, and pull out a dagger. The magister looked up at Cullen, crystal azure eyes meeting amber, and Cullen saw. The former Knight Captain looked down at Jace and chose. He nodded at Dorian’s sad blue eyes, resigned. Without another word, Dorian slit the back of the hand still resting on Jace’s throat, spilling his blood. The droplets seemed to freeze in the air as Cullen gazed upon his beloved, before an explosion of light burst into existence. Forced to cover his eyes, Cullen could see flickers of the bright and piercing angelic blue now mixed with a deep red color. His magical senses were completely shot to hell, overwhelmed by the energy Dorian was channeling. This level of magic was beyond that even of the healing spell Dorian had used earlier.  
    And at last, it was over. When the lights stopped, he looked down to see Jace still unconscious, but there wasn’t a single scratch left on his unblemished throat. Cullen looked to Dorian to see the man now cradling the hand he had used to channel the blood magic laced healing spell. The appendage was completely red, and looking closer, Cullen saw that cut on the back of Dorian’s hand was smoking. Dorian all but collapsed on the ground, Iron Bull quickly catching the man and cradling him in his embrace. Cullen pulled Jace into his arms, and thankfully found the man breathing strong despite his unconscious state. He distantly heard Cassandra yelling for Cor and Solas to find a wagon quickly. He saw Vivienne out of the corner of his eye casting forth a blizzard over the the flaming forest, at least trying to save a few of the trees. And through it all, Cullen’s eye were transfixed upon the beautiful lithe form of the man in front him. Blood magic or no, Jace was alive. And that was all that mattered.  



End file.
